Mortal Kombat II (2026)

​“Mortal Kombat II” stars Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.  Released on May 8, 2026, the film follows Johnny Cage and his allies as they compete in a dangerous tournament to save Earthrealm.

The film was directed by Simon McQuoid, known for directing the short films “The Stone Forest” and “The Night-time Economy”.  It is a sequel to McQuoid’s 2021 reboot of “Mortal Kombat” and the fourth installment in the Mortal Kombat film series.  “Mortal Kombat” has been one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, displaying a slew of distinctive characters and freaking out multiple parents with its hardcore violence in the process.  But, of course, with every booming game franchise comes a film adaptation that mostly struggles to capture its essence on the big screen.  While the recent animated direct-to-DVD adaptations found some success in their own way, the live-action films have so far been a mixed bag from a critical standpoint.  Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Mortal Kombat” from 1995 has its fans despite the mixed reviews, but its sequel, “Annihilation”, quickly killed the franchise's potential by being a bad sequel and a terrible movie overall.  It wasn’t until 24 years later that Hollywood resurrected the brand with a more faithful adaptation of “Mortal Kombat”, complete with some gruesome fatalities we’ve known and loved from the games.  Despite being released during the COVID pandemic and receiving mixed reviews, Simon McQuoid’s reboot was successful enough to continue Earthrealm’s fight for survival.  Now, with the focus on the anticipated tournament and even more fatalities that’ll send parents into a frenzy.  Does this sequel have enough cinematic moves to dominate the tournament, or should audiences perform a fatality on it?  Let’s find out.

The story is set after the events of 2021’s “Mortal Kombat”.  The warriors of Earthrealm, including Lord Raiden (Asano), Sonya Blade (McNamee), and Cole Young (Tan), are seeking other volunteers to help them compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament.  The competition pits multiple fighters from different worlds against one another to save their homes.  The nefarious Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) and Shang Tsung (Han) seek to win the tournament to conquer Earthrealm.  Raiden and his allies recruit Johnny Cage (Urban), a washed-up actor past his prime, to help them win the dangerous tournament.  As a result, Johnny Cage will have to utilize his skills from his acting career to dominate the competition and save Earthrealm.

In case you haven’t read my review of 2021’s “Mortal Kombat” reboot, I have not played a single installment of “Mortal Kombat” in my life.  However, I did get some experience with its concept and world-building through the playthroughs I watched on YouTube and the 90s movies.  Sure, the 1995 film was cheesy and barebones regarding the dialogue and premise, and its toned-down violence was frustrating compared to the games.  But it was still fun and charming enough to declare it one of the only good video game movies from Paul W. S. Anderson, along with the first “Resident Evil” film.  As for “Annihilation”, do I really need to say anything else about it?  Those movies were enough for me to check out the 2021 reboot, which I thought was decent enough to continue the popular franchise on the big screen.  Besides the clunky pacing and fundamental premise, the reboot was a respectable, gritty, fun, and faithful adaptation that emphasizes the hardcore violence and production values of the games.  One can argue that it’s more of a setup for the tournament than an actual movie about it.  However, for a film that attempts to offer a new narrative while remaining faithful to the games' lore, particularly for Lewis Tan's Cole Young, it’s not bad.

Fortunately for us fans, Hollywood saw our appreciation towards the reboot and gave us exactly what we wanted in the first place: a sequel centering on the Mortal Kombat tournament…and Johnny Cage.  In a way, it’s a reverse of what the two “Mortal Kombat” movies from the 90s have done, where the first movie was the tournament, and the sequel was the fight in Earthrealm outside the tournament.  Was it worth the wait?  Regarding the tournament, yes.  Narrative-wise?  That will depend on one’s expectations.  If you’re hoping for another fun video game movie that’s more on references and Easter eggs and less on an Oscar-winning story, “Mortal Kombat II” is the chosen fighter you seek.  It’s a brisk, bloody, gritty, and unapologetically silly continuation that understands what fans want out of a “Mortal Kombat” adaptation.  But if you’re looking for more than just people flying through the air and gruesomely murdering people, you’re not going to find much in this bloodbath.  From my perspective, it’s an enjoyable experience that satisfies my interest in the franchise, ranging from its references to the production designs that faithfully capture the games’ memorable locations.  However, it may not be enough to combat the narrative flaws that held it back.

To the film’s credit, it appears Simon McQuoid and the crew took the criticisms of its predecessor to heart.  We have a tournament that’s fully reimagined for its bleak, modern tone, but the most important factor is that it focuses more on the games’ characters this time around.  Cole Young from the first film is still present, though he’s not in it that much, which should make the character’s haters pretty happy.  Of course, we have Johnny Cage, who’s forced to rediscover his glory days in an attempt to help Raiden and the others win the competition.  However, the film also focuses on another familiar character from the games, Kitana, the adoptive daughter of Shao Kahn.  Those familiar with Kitana’s background will know what her arc is like from the source material, but “Mortal Kombat II” did a respectable job at crafting its own narrative for Kitana while staying true to her roots.  It’s enough to make her followers happy, but it’ll also get newcomers rooting for the fan-wielding fighter.  But I will say that this direction makes “Mortal Kombat II” another video game movie sequel that attempts to juggle the multiple character arcs equally.  While Kitana’s arc was a tad more interesting than Johnny Cage’s, the latter offers a few amusing moments in his character to keep this actor from being blacklisted.

Although the course correction for its fan service was admittedly promising, I feel that the narrative aspect still needs a few tweaks if they want to continue with a third film.  Understandably, it’s a movie based on a fighting game that’s more on fatalities and style rather than substance, so it didn’t need to have Christopher Nolan-levels of quality in the writing.  But here’s the thing.  We have three films based on a video game franchise about a speedy blue hedgehog battling an evil scientist, and they feature some surprisingly decent writing that highlights its characters through depth and heart.  The film’s writer, Jeremy Slater, attempts to take a similar approach with Johnny Cage and Kitana.  However, he only succeeds in making Kitana's character more compelling than Cage's throughout their story arcs.  Despite this, Slater struggles to portray the characters more humanly than their portrayals in the games, especially given the lack of significant stakes in the plot.  Its pacing also didn’t help much, as it still felt pretty rushed in how it presented certain character moments and themes, including a message of self-discovery for Johnny Cage.  It’s not as bad as the pacing in “Super Mario Galaxy”, but there were a few moments that I would like the film to explore further to warrant its longer runtime.

However, regardless of the film’s story, I am still impressed that Simon McQuoid remains a suitable choice to bring the world of “Mortal Kombat” to the big screen.  “Mortal Kombat II” retains the darker, violent tone of its 2021 predecessor, while McQuoid balances its bleakness with a few light-hearted, yet far-fetched, moments that showcase its silliness.  But what really captured my attention was his ability to translate specific game elements in cinematic form, particularly the fight choreography.  “Mortal Kombat” is known for featuring a bunch of characters with special moves that seem implausible to pull off in real life but are also pretty satisfying to watch.  “Mortal Kombat II” delivers plenty of fight sequences that are not only entertaining and suitably directed but also rewarding in their ability to replicate the characters’ signature fight styles.  Before you ask, seeing Johnny Cage punch someone in the privates was something that I humbly enjoyed the most.  Some of the effects shown in these sequences do look a bit floaty or iffy, but thankfully, they’re not as bad as the ones from “Annihilation”.  Despite his tame approach to the film’s emotional core, McQuoid successfully retains his stance as a filmmaker who understands the source material’s lore while also evoking some mild fun into its familiar “save the world” concept.

Regarding the cast, the only two actors I found most enjoyable were Karl Urban and Josh Lawson.  Karl Urban has been having a pretty good year so far, as he’s wrapping up on the final season of “The Boys”, and now he’s gracing the silver screen as everyone’s favorite arrogant yet charming actor.  Given my appreciation for the actor, it’s nice to see Urban getting more attention outside the raunchy superhero series on Amazon Prime.  While it does take a bit to get used to Urban’s rough take on Johnny Cage, he’s able to capture the character’s arrogance and charismatic nature through his performance pretty well.  I don’t think he was the perfect choice for Johnny Cage, but Urban offers enough amusing moments for me to let this casting choice slide.  The other actor I enjoyed was Josh Lawson, whose performance as Kano was one of the main highlights of the 2021 reboot.  In terms of the line deliveries and snarky attitude, Lawson delivered a near-perfect iteration of Kano that I can both hate and love.  Unsurprisingly, he’s no different in the sequel, with his chemistry with Urban’s Johnny being my favorite part.  I would definitely be down for a road trip comedy involving these two characters if they’re planning on any “Mortal Kombat” spin-offs.  Adeline Rudolph also did pretty well with her portrayal of Kitana, while Martyn Ford conveyed Shao Kahn’s menacing, tough presence with his performance.  For the latter, the villain’s personality fits almost perfectly with the costume design, which is both familiar and modern.

Overall, “Mortal Kombat II” may not be a flawless victory by storytelling standards, but its faithfulness and entertainment value kept it from being eliminated too early.  Like its predecessors, this latest installment in the “Mortal Kombat” franchise offers plenty of corniness, fatalities, and Easter eggs for fans to enjoy, thanks to Simon McQuoid’s understanding of the source material.  Of course, the inclusion of the highly anticipated tournament didn’t disappoint in terms of fight sequences.  However, its character moments and tone surprisingly lack the extra punch to become the true victor of the video game movie genre.  This is another game-to-film adaptation that stays true to what made the games so beloved by their fans, but doesn’t offer much else to convince most newcomers to join this bloody competition.  It’s got its entertaining moments, much like the previous “Mortal Kombat” installments.  Unfortunately, there aren’t enough for me to put it on par with the 1995 film and the 2021 reboot.   

C+